The village in India, located near Puducherry, was conceived as not belonging to anyone separately and belonging to humanity as a whole. Last year, this paradise on Earth celebrated its half-century anniversary. Its inhabitants renounced personal wealth and devoted themselves to serving the community. The result was a kind of experiment, the purpose of which was the formation of "spiritual communism."
Unusual city
Auroville is located in the Viluppuram district of Tamil Nadu, and some of its parts are located in neighboring Puducherry. The forest around him was completely planted by people. Three million trees occupy 505 hectares, which is half the area of Auroville.
Fifty years ago, it was scorched by the sun, barren land on which stood a lone banyan tree. The transformation began when about 300 foreigners settled here, responding to the call of the “Mother” Blanche Rashal Mirra Alfassa. Devoting herself to spiritual pursuit, Alfassa left her home in France forever and in the 1920s arrived at the Aurobindo ashram near Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry). Soon she became a “spiritual associate” of the founder of the ashram (spiritual monastery), who studied at Cambridge Bengal freedom fighter, who later became a spiritual reformer, Sri Aurobindo. After the seer died in 1950, Alfassa continued his work in the ashram.
On February 28, 1968, she set about creating Auroville, an experimental city in which people from all over the world could come and live in harmony, casting aside the differences between classes, nationalities and worldview.
Structure
Auroville is still developing in accordance with the Master Plan, but some urban facilities are still missing here, for example, there is no police station or courtroom. There are few roads laid, and those that are are intentionally left uncoated, nameless and unlit. There is also no bar (those who want a drink, do it secretly or go to Puducherry next door), there is no bus stop or railway, no public transport, no temples, churches or mosques.
But there is a stylish town hall, schools, business units, including agricultural land, and many one-story residential buildings. A distinctive feature of the town is Matrimandir, a meditation hall with golden domes, in which there is a specially made crystal ball on which sunlight is always focused. There is a large amphitheater around it. In general, Auroville is very similar to a campus.
Control
The main feature of the city is that nothing belongs to anyone here. Each individual asset belongs to the community, which is represented by the Auroville Foundation, which, in turn, belongs to the Ministry of Human Resources Development of the Government of India and is managed by a retired bureaucrat appointed by the government.
When Auroville was first created, Sri Aurobindo’s company legally owned all assets. However, after the death of Mother in 1973, friction arose between residents and society. Residents called on Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to intervene. Society tried to resist government intervention and lost. Parliament passed the 1988 Auroville Fund Act, effectively taking full responsibility.
The foundation has a board of governors, an international advisory board and a meeting of residents. The members of the council are prominent figures, and the current chairman is the leader of the congress and member of Rajya Sabhi Karan Singh.
The meeting of residents with the assistance of the working committee resolves most of the issues, including the construction of buildings or the issuance of residence permits. It is in this framework of management that an experiment of “spiritual communism” is conducted. Auroville is a “brotherhood”, where instead of a high-ranking structure that imposes rules on people, the whole community decides what it does for itself. It also includes the understanding that no one should bring the same Auroville to court; disputes are resolved within the community. Everyone serves the community, and the community takes care of all of them.
Economy
Electricity is free here. Schooling is also free, children study subjects of their choice, and exams are not held. Students who want to go “beyond” to pursue higher education will definitely have to take an open exam elsewhere, and they will usually succeed. Although local teaching methods make it possible to learn mathematics, humanities and computer literacy well, things are worse with science education because laboratories are in their infancy in the community.
In Auroville, you have to pay for water. But there are several free medical facilities here. For more serious cases, two ambulances have been prepared that can deliver patients to Puducherry hospitals.
The fund receives funds from various sources, including donations paid by those seeking housing. Auroville was conceived as completely self-sufficient, with its own economy. The success of this economy is a key element of the experiment.
The fund has created about 150 revenue generating units. These units are designed to generate a sufficient amount of funds for their own existence, as well as for the contribution (at least a third of their profits) to the fund. Any balance is returned to the business, but never transferred to private individuals. Maroma, which produces a wide range of handicrafts sold in Auroville stores throughout the country, is one of the largest commercial units. Local bakery products are also in demand. In addition, there are agricultural lands owned by Auroville, which are used for research in the field of agriculture and water conservation, as well as for growing crops. A dozen restaurants make money for the foundation, serving over 3,000 visitors a day.
Perhaps the best example of a commercial venture in Auroville is Auroville Consulting, with 25 employees. The company provides advice and training in the field of wind and solar energy generation and sustainable development. His clients include organizations such as the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency and the Tamil Nadu Urban Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation.
Another Auroville venture is Buddha Garden, an agricultural area where experiments are conducted with an irrigation system using sensors and controlled drip irrigation (which is somewhat similar to the Bosch attempt in Karnataka, only cheaper). However, much more here depends on grants and donations.
However, the city’s economy is not currently developing as planned. This is probably one of the reasons why the number of inhabitants has not increased. Auroville was conceived to accommodate 50,000 people, 50 years later, 2136 adults and 690 children live here. It was planned that the city will occupy an area of more than 200 square meters. km, but Auroville still owns only 84 square meters. km